Until House Lyrandar secured rights to this island at the mouth of Scions Sound, Stormhome was a rugged and desolate place, a windswept rock home only to a garrison of demoralized soldiers. Six hundred years ago, Lyrandar chose this spot to build its enclave and used weather-controlling magic to divert the worst storms away from the island. The results were astonishing: Stormhome became an island paradise, a testament to House Lyrandar’s wealth and power.

Stormhome remains part of Aundair but is left to its own devices, making it an ideal retreat for foreign dignitaries and nobles. Even Queen Aurala seems enchanted with the place, spending a portion of each year in the company of Lyrandar’s baron, swapping secrets and rumors to the dismay of both their advisors. As the premier destination for the wealthy and powerful, Stormhome has emerged as a hotbed of intrigue, and agents come to broker alliances and gather intelligence about their rivals.


This island city is the seat of House Lyrandar, and Queen Aurala allows the house a free rein in governing the isle. It is the finest resort and vacation spot in Khorvaire. Spies, charlatans, sailors, and house agents all have a place in Stormhome. Even though the island escaped the devastation wrought during the Last War, it remains a hotbed for clandestine activities.

Lyrandar wizards use magic to continuously alter Stormhome’s weather, turning the otherwise bleak and storm-blasted location into a temperate island getaway.

Docking Tower

You can find airship docking towers in most of the major cities across Khorvaire, but the most impressive by far is the House Lyrandar docking tower in Stormhome. This 200-foot tall tower of stone and wood rises between a House Ghallanda beach resort and the Aundairian naval yards, dominating the skyline of the magically preserved island paradise. Three docking platforms are situated along the tower, at the 90-foot level, the 140-foot level, and the top level. Nine docking berths extend from each docking-platform level, and a variety of roc mount and other flying creature perches protrude at various levels along the tower walls. Winding staircases lead up and down through the tower, stopping at passenger lounges and House Lyrandar work levels along the way. The top level of the tower houses a weather observatory and an arcane research facility.

The Pole, as the tower has come to be called by seasoned airship pilots and frequent travelers, has been a lightning rod for clandestine activity since the height of the Last War. To this day, those who deal in information and secrets use the island paradise as a hub. The constant movement of people and cargo through Stormhome serves as great cover for the whispers of spies, the murmurs of courtiers, and the discussions of diplomats ostensibly on holiday. The first commercial airship, the Spirit of Stormhome, flew its maiden voyage from this tower less than a decade ago.

Because of the industry’s youth, only nine airship docking towers have been constructed across Khorvaire. These towers are located in Sharn and Wroat, Breland; Stormhome and Fairhaven, Aundair; Flamekeep, Thrane; Taer Valaestas, Valenar; Korth, Karrnath; Trolanport, Zilargo; and Krona Peak, Mror Holds. The docking towers in these cities lack the Lyrandar weather research station and the Rat’s Aerie area of the Lyrandar tower. All are shorter, but they are otherwise identical to the plans presented here.

An airship does not require a docking tower for passengers to disembark any more than a sea-faring galleon requires a pier; it is simply a convenience. In ports without docking towers, Lyrandar airship passengers clamber up and down rope ladders thrown over the gunwales, or arrange for magical transport to the ground below through fly or feather fall spells.

Public Areas

These areas are open to the public.

  1. Passenger Gondola: An open air oak and wicker basket large enough for ten people (or 2500 pounds of people or cargo) stops at Docking Platforms 1, 2, and 3 as it ascends the tower. It travels up and down at a constant speed of 20 feet per round. The gondola is supported by two enchanted House Cannith braided rope cables, both of which must be severed to drop the gondola. House Cannith support cables: 5 inches thick, hardness 5, 60 hp.

  2. Rat’s Aerie: This multilevel marketplace occupies a section of the tower between Docking Platforms 1 and 2. The marketplace has become known as Rat’s Aerie—not because of any resident vermin, but for the smugglers, pawns of foreign powers, agents of dubious organizations, and slumming tourists who congregate here. Businesses range from honest to shady. Anyone who is wanted by the government of a recognized nation gains a +2 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Gather Information checks in the Rat’s Aerie.

  3. House Lyrandar Ticket Offices and Lounge: The bottom three levels of the tower feature the ticketing and administrative offices of House Lyrandar. Tickets for all scheduled Lyrandar airship runs can be purchased here, and passengers can relax in front of roaring fires in the great hall while awaiting boarding calls. The house also provides a small space for privateers who sometimes use the tower (and pay a fee to the house).

    Proceeds are kept in a safe (DC 35 Open Lock) and emptied at noon and dusk. The safe typically contains 1d20 coins each of platinum and gold, 20 blank airship tickets, 10 blank steerage class airship tickets, and a roll of 20 vouchers good for 1 meal each at the Sunset Club ( used to placate ticket holders in the case of a delayed departure, usually caused by a high-ranking noble’s late arrival).

  1. Docking Platform 1: A winding central staircase within the tower and two gondolas (one for passengers and one for cargo) that ride up and down the outer tower wall lead to this docking platform, located 90 feet up the tower. Six docking berths radiate from the platform. Capstans, each coiled with 200 feet of mooring rope, stud each berth’s perimeter.

    An airship requires 5 minutes to tie up to a docking berth and a similar amount of time to cast off. If a ship is under attack while moored, it can attempt a faster cast off. Each deckhand that succeeds at a DC 15 Profession (airship sailor) check reduces the cast off time by 1 minute, to a minimum of 6 rounds.
  1. Roc Mount Perches: A series of twenty-footlong, guano-spattered perches jut from the tower at both the 115- and 170-foot-levels. These allow roc, griffon, hippogriff, and other bestial mounts to land at the docking tower. Feathers fill the air here and the place smells of refuse and flying creatures.

  2. Docking Platform 2: This dock is identical to Docking Platform 1. It is located at the 140-foot-level of the tower.

  3. Observation Deck: This area is a popular tourist destination, especially for those who arrive on Stormhome via the sea. The glass-walled observation deck on the 170-foot-level of the tower provides commanding views of Stormhome and the Bitter Sea. Entry is 1 sp. By agreement with House Lyrandar, all ticket agents at the observation deck are actually Aundairian Navy personnel, assigned to watch for foreign operatives using the Pole to spy on the nearby naval shipyards.

  4. Sunset Club: This House Ghallanda restaurant located 185 feet up the tower caters to Lyrandar’s high-end passengers with buttered lobster, succulent thunderherd steaks, and the finest Aundairian wines, including antebellum Bluevine and Orla-un vintages. Anyone treating a potential business partner to a meal at the Sunset Club (10 gp) gains a +1 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks made during the meal, or a +2 circumstance bonus if the meal includes one of the rare aged wines (100 gp per bottle). The executive chef, Rorin Ugra (male halfling expert 4/dragonmark heir 4), prepares a heroes’ feast at half price for anyone holding a House Lyrandar ticket (not steerage class).

  5. Docking Platform 3: This dock is identical to Docking Platforms 1 and 2. It is located at the top of the tower, 200 feet above ground level.

Private and Restricted Access Areas

These areas are only open to members of House Lyrandar or, in the case of the private rooms and the Queen’s suite, to travelers who pay for their use. Such payment can be made at the lobby ticket booths.

  1. Cargo Lift: Located on the opposite side of the tower from the passenger gondola, the clanky cargo lift deploys a steel crate, 10 ft. by 15 ft. with a 10 ft. ceiling, and is capable of lifting 4000 pounds at a speed of 15 feet per round. Two enchanted House Cannith braided rope cables support the lift crate. House Cannith support cables: 5 inches thick, hardness 5, 60 hp.

  2. Private Rooms: House Ghallanda, in cooperation with House Lyrandar, provides rooms for travelers to stay the night or for merchants who wish to conduct business privately. Each room contains one goose feather bed, a desk, two oak chairs, bluevine scent dishes, and at least one window. Private rooms cost 5 gp per night.

  3. Queen’s Suite: Queen Aurala of Aundair is known to meet with House Lyrandar matriarch Esravash in this sumptuous chamber. While the queen and her entourage can call for the suite at any time, the suite is actually sponsored by the Wayfinder Foundation. Any member can rent the suite for 10 gp per night (provided the queen isn’t in residence). The room can accommodate four people and only one need be a Wayfinder. Anyone sleeping 8 hours here wakes especially refreshed and alert. Such a character gains 1 temporary hit point and enjoys a +1 competency bonus to Spot and Listen checks for the day.

  4. Lyrandar Weather Research Station: House Lyrandar uses this domed chamber to further its knowledge of storm magic. The room has four capable guards (half-elf rogue 2/fighter 3) and is staffed by two capable wizards (half-elf wizard 7), the arcanelocked room is well defended. It contains a spare wheel of wind and water, two Siberys dragonshards, one Eberron dragon shard, a storm sphere, and any other plot items the DM places here. The storm sphere is an eldritch machine, part of the Lyrandar weather control system that keeps Stormhome a temperate paradise in the frigid Bitter Sea. Destroying the storm sphere causes hail and thunderstorms to assail the island for 2–5 days while the Lyrandar dragonmark heirs and storm mages struggle to regain control of the weather.

  5. Airship Control Deck: Docking Master Nicolette d’Lyrandar (female half-elf aristocrat 2/ monk 6; see below) oversees the entire docking tower from this deck, the highest vantage point on the Pole. Having spent a dozen years studying with the monks in the famous Orla-un monastery near Wyr, Nicolette runs a disciplined and efficient tower.

Adventure Ideas

  • The Order of the Emerald Claw believes that Stormhome is the resting place of a potent relic (actually a talon of Vol’s green dragon father). The Claw agents approach the PCs while posing as Royal Eyes of Aundair and claim that they need a diversion, during which they will infiltrate Esravash d’Lyrandar’s mansion and check her files. They ask the PCs to destroy the storm sphere in the Pole’s weather observatory to send House Lyrandar into a panic. In reality, the Claw agents intend to use the diversion to smuggle the green dragon relic out of Stormhome.

  • Morgrave University professor Mortimal Krasnak knows will be taking place in the Rat’s Aerie between Professor Ruparthe Owen of Morgrave University and a drow from Xen’drik. Professor Krasnak wants to know why the drow is so far from home and what Professor Owen’s interest is, and so hires the PCs to spy on the meeting and find out what he wants to know. The Professor and the drow are both disguised as human tourists dressed in shirts printed with gaudy soarwood leaf patterns (DC 25). They are meeting regarding the knowledge the drow has of a sphere of annihilation hidden in a giant ruin in Xen’drik.

  • When the PCs arrive at the docking tower, the passenger gondola is dangling from a single cable. Two half-elf stevedores and three human tourists are calling for help, while four horrid giant owls tear through the remaining cable. The owls have been sent by Ashbound druids. They are attacking the tower in retribution after two House Lyrandar airships blew off course and traveled over protected portions of the Eldeen Reaches, offending the Ashbounds’ sense of nature.

The Last War

One of Lyrandar’s biggest contributions to the Last War was Stormhome. The central home of House Lyrandar, an island in the midst of nigh-eternal storms, proved an excellent meeting place for spies and refugees throughout the war. Though the Aundairian crown technically held title to the island, it could do little more than mount a token patrol for enemy agents within the city. The other nations were reluctant to attack Stormhome for fear of alienating one of the great houses. On one of the rare occasions when someone did—such as Breland’s aborted attempt to force the island to turn over a vital Karrnathi agent in the autumn of 943—Lyrandar showed that it had no qualms about using weather magic in its own defense. A single ship of the Brelish fleet survived to return home, and Stormhome remained safe from attack for the rest of the war.